ABSTRACT

Sustainable intensification (SI) is promoted as a rural development paradigm for sub-Saharan Africa. Achieving SI requires smallholder farmers to have access to information that is context-specific, increases their decision-making capacities, and adapts to changing environments. Current extension services often struggle to address these needs. New mobile phone-based services can help. In order to enhance the public extension service in Tanzania, we created a digital service that addresses smallholder farmers’ different information needs for implementing SI. Using a co-design methodology – User-Centered Design – we elicited feedback from farmers and extension agents in Tanzania to create a new digital information service, called Ushauri. This automated hotline gives farmers access to a set of pre-recorded messages. Additionally, farmers can ask questions in a mailbox. Extension agents then listen to these questions through an online platform, where they record and send replies via automated push-calls. A test with 97 farmers in Tanzania showed that farmers actively engaged with the service to access agricultural advice. Extension agents were able to answer questions with reduced workload compared to conventional communication channels. This study illustrates how User-Centered Design can be used to develop information services for complex and resource-restricted smallholder farming contexts.

摘要

可持续集约化 (SI) 被推广为撒哈拉以南非洲的农村发展范式。实现 SI 要求小农能够访问特定于环境的信息，提高他们的决策能力，并适应不断变化的环境。当前的推广服务往往难以满足这些需求。新的基于移动电话的服务可以提供帮助。为了加强坦桑尼亚的公共推广服务，我们创建了一个数字服务，以满足小农在实施 SI 时的不同信息需求。使用协同设计方法——以用户为中心的设计——我们从坦桑尼亚的农民和推广代理那里获得了反馈，以创建一个名为 Ushauri 的新数字信息服务。这条自动热线使农民可以访问一组预先录制的消息。此外，农民可以在邮箱里提问。分机代理然后通过在线平台听取这些问题，在那里他们通过自动推送呼叫记录和发送答复。对坦桑尼亚 97 名农民进行的一项测试表明，农民积极参与该服务以获取农业建议。与传统的沟通渠道相比，推广代理能够以更少的工作量回答问题。本研究说明了如何使用以用户为中心的设计为复杂且资源受限的小农农业环境开发信息服务。与传统的沟通渠道相比，推广代理能够以更少的工作量回答问题。本研究说明了如何使用以用户为中心的设计为复杂且资源受限的小农农业环境开发信息服务。与传统的沟通渠道相比，推广代理能够以更少的工作量回答问题。本研究说明了如何使用以用户为中心的设计为复杂且资源受限的小农农业环境开发信息服务。